5n7t2016 Allison JanneyReaches Great Heights in Acting (INTERVIEW) - Biography.com bio. ffiF:#llr"

AllisonJanney Reaches Great Heightsin Acting{INTEHVIEW Thegifted performer talks about costarring on 'Mom,' makingher upcomingmovies, and, oh yeah,being mentoredby PaulNewman and Joanne\r/oodward.

JUTIEJACOBS. 19 HOURS AGO

Whilemany actresses of a certaingeneration lament the scarcityof good roles,not to mention steadywork, Alliam:jmn*U remainsamong a selectgroup of thespianswhose phones just don't stopringing. The figuratively and literallytall talent*she stands six feet-has stayedincrediblv busysince she entered the industrynearly two decadesago.

Whethershe's supported leads such as M*rut$kg:*n in The Hoursand Mq!$jia,M#C;rtlry in Spy, suppliedihe voicefor otherspecies in FindingNemo and Overthe Hedge, or beenpart of the ensemblesfor independentfilms like Big Nlghtand Juno, Janney always deftly delivers the goods. She'shappy to takeon any projectthat allows her to flexher acting muscle, and notjust up on the bigscreen" Janney currently stars with Anna Faris in theCBS hit sitcom, Mom, as BonniePlunkett, an unahrashedlyinappropriate alcoholic in recovery.And she recentlywas a featuredplayer on Mastersof Sex on Showtime.Both rolesearned her an Ernmyin the sameawards season, a rare featin Hollywood.

But she is perhapsLrest known on televisionfor her memorableturn as presidentialpress secretary C.J.Cregg on the NBC drama,The WestWing, which ran for sevenseasons. Janney earned four Emmysand four Screen Actors Guild Awards along with a slewof othernominations for her portrayalof Cregg,which she has said is the mostimpactful and life-changingrole she has ever played.lt landedher an invitationto theWhite House as welland ultimatelyopened doors to a celebratedcareer. This past April,Janney returned to her Creggroots when she crasheda White Housepress briefing in characterthe day beforethe annual White House Correspondents Dinner. Sheactually was asked to attendto speakabout the impactof addiction,something she has learnedmore about through Mom andalso experienced personally, having tragically lost a family memberto the disease.

Trailer far CBS"Mom'.'

Janneygrew up in Dayton,Ohio, as a typicalMidwestern kid andexcelled in athletics.Her mom was an aspiringactress who attendedthe AmericanAcademy of DramaticArts and roomedwith and befriendedthe late FileenBrennan and ffilrs:Mc_ill;*.n;ahnn at summer stock theater. However, shedecided to foregoshow biz for full-timefamily life when she married Janney's father, a businessmanand jazz pianist. Janney remembers meeting Brennan and thinking acting "was a prettyneat thing" for a profession.When she laterattended Kenyon College to studythe craft and was directedin a schoolplay by alumnusPald"l*sruraan, the dealwas sealed.Newman and wife Jaary$ lryaadl&afdmentored Janney and encouragedher to moveto New YorkCity to studyat the NeighborhoodPlayhouse. She followed their advice and went on to alsoqain award-winnina acclaimon Broadwayover the yearsin productionsthat include Present[.aughter, A Viewfiom the Bridge and 9 to 5. http://www.biography.com/news/alIison-janney-mom-movies-interv iew 5il7t20t6 Allison Janney ReachesGreat Heights in Acting (INTERVIEW) - Biography.com Biochatted with Janney shortly before she slipped into C.J. Cregg's skin once again, reuniting with WestWing costar Bradley Whitford to do a signature"walk and ialk" for skit on a 'l.affcs$Sffl,trl's The LateLate Show. Although she hasn'tplayed a commander-in-chief,she certainlycommands theattention and adoration of W-watching,theater-loving, movie-going audiences.

Whenwas the first time you knewyou were famous?

Wellthe Emmyffor The Westtllrngl was prettyamazing... I just rememberstanding up there acceptingthat awardfor C.J. Creggand I think I saidthat, 'Thisis the firsttime I actuallyfeel like I canadmit and come out of the darkshadows, and admii that l'm an actress.'So I said,'My name is AllisonJanney and l'm an actress.'My careerstaried very [ate]. I mean,my Broadwaydebut, I thinkI was38 whenI hadthat. I spenta lot of timein thetrenches in NewYork doing a lot of otf- off-offBroadway theater. I was a latebloomer in a lot of areasin life.

$peakingof C.J.Crcgg, she crasheda recentWhite House daily pressbriefing.

Yes,she did flaughsl.

Youwere therenhowever, to speakabout an importantissue: the opioidepidemic. How did that all comeabout?

li cameabout through doing Mom, of course.li's a show about peoplein recovery...I went to WashingtonD.C. back in thefall to representMom andthe FaceAddiction Now Rallyon the mall, and I wentand I spokein frontof morepeople than l've ever spoken to in my life...lt wasexciting and I got to meetthe SurgeonGeneral, who wasa lovely,lovely man. I justadore him, and he

(,U o J U something,you put somethingout intothe world that's actually helping people.... The press briefingthing was sort of sprungon me.I almostdidn't do it becauseI wasso nervous.lt's a differentthing. I'm far morecomfortable being C.J. with a scriptthan I am beingAllison. l'm actuallyvery shy and uncomfortable.

Janney crashes a White House press briefing to bring to light the apioid epidemic:

Yourbody of work is so eclecticand extensive.IMDB lists you as having1 13 credits,and you alwayshave projects in some stageof development.Are you happywith the trajectoryof your career?You're so busy,it doesn'tseem like you've ever faced any genderor age discrimination.

Youknow, I feelpretty lucky. I thinkI probablyhad some height discrimination early on flaughsl.I reallythink that was why it took me a whileto grow intothe sort of partsthat I would play.There was a lot of low self-esteem.Those issues probably stopped me from pushingmyself ... I knew I wantedto do it, I knew I was good at it, but I didn't havea realfire in my belly.This friend of mine backin NewYork said, 'Allison, I just havethis feeling you're going to be successfulin spiteof yourself.' flaughsl

Youwerc your own worst enemyit soundslike.

http://www.biography.com/news/allison-janney-mom-movies-interview 5it]t20t6 Allison JanneyReaches Great Heights in Acting (INTERVIEW) - Biography.com Yes,always have been, still am. In my career,I am so so happyand gratefulfor everythingl've gottento do.And yet,I wishI hadstarted off earlier so I could,I don'tknow... I certainlyhave not notgotten work because of my age,but l'rrrjust gonna pray and hopethat the roleswill still keep comingas I get older.And ihey haveso far,so I don'tsee why I shouldthink they wouldn't keep coming,but I thinkthat's just one of the pitfallsof beingan actor...Do I stillgot it? lt just never goesaway. But I feel prettyfortunate that l've had what'sthe closestthing to beinga steadyjob as an actor,which is life on a hit TV show,The West Wing lhe first one and now Mom. I hopeit continuesto do well,because I reallylike having a steadyjob. I feelbetter when l'm working.I terrd to notknow who I am whenI'm notworking. That worries me a littlebit... I've been fortunate to be so bttsy,but I haven'tdeveloped any other skills. l'm like'Dammit, I gottadevelop some oiher skills.'fiaughs]

Whatabout heightdiscrimination? You were quotedas saying, "Yearsago, one castingagent told me that the only rolesI could playwere lesbians and aliens."Did this discourageyou? And how tall was the agent?

lt was a woman,too. She wasn'tshort... There were a lot of tall actressesat that point: s**xt:yny mhfiv"*r,andKelly McGillis who was big rightaround that time... Christine Lahti was working a lot. Andsomeone said [to me],'well, those women are drop-dead gorgeousl' You know, people said somepretty awful things, but I alwaysknew, l've always known ihat I coulddo this.There was sornestrange confidence I had. Even though I didn'thave the ambition reallv, I hadthe competence.

Consideringthat PaulNewman and JoanneWoodward were amongyour mentorsand encouraged you, I'd sayyou hadacting chopsvery early on. How werethey as mentors?

Joannewas incredible.Paul was, too. ButJoanne was the one who reallygave her time to a group of us in NewYork. and wouldinvite us outto theirhouse in Connecticutand we'd do playreadings. And she madeit possiblefor r-rsto put on scenenights in New York,to haveagents come. I mean shereally put herselfout therefor a bunchof us youngactors. She was instrumentalin gettingme to be a memberof TheActor's Studio, even though [laughs] l've never even gotten to take advantageof that or work out there,because I movedto LosAngeles! She was great.Paul directed me in my firstplay in collegeand through him I metJoanne. He told rneif I ever,ever needed a favorthat he would be therefor me. He said it hasto be veryspecific and I said okay,so I never knewwhat to ask himfor, so I neverdid. Butit alwaysfelt really good to havethat in my hip pocket,to knowthat he hadsaid that to me,lt gaveme an enormousamount of confidence.

Thisyear, moviegoers will seeyou in quitea few films:'The Girl on TheTrain,' 'Miss Perregrine's Home for PeculiarChildren' and 'Talullah.'Tellus aboutthem.

Talullahis a movieI'm reallyproud of. SianHeder is the director/writer and I thinkshe's extraordinarilytalented. I think it was a beautifulstory. I got to be reunitedwith my dearfriend f;.lit:i.i il*Sslfrom Juno].I lovethis storyabout these people, these women's lives. that theirfamily units werefractured, all of them,for onereason or another...Their lives intersect in thisamazinc wav that'slife changing for allthree of them.

MissPeregrine's Hame, I just had an opportunityto work with [director]:Jgt_{:}}e#}tand l'd never methim before and I wantedto do it. I justsort of pop up in a coupleof scenes.lt was moreof a justl-gotta-meet-him, l-want-to-work-with-him. l'm sucha hugefan of his,so I wentover and had a coupleof davswork on thai filrn.

Trailerfor'The Girl on the Train,:

http://www.biography.com/news/allison-janney-mom-movies-interview 5tI1t20l6 Allison JanneyReaches Great Heights in Acting (INTERVIEW) - Biography.com And thenTate Taylor, who did TheGil an theTrain, he's my dearestfriend. He just puts me in every singlemovie that he does...lt's just our thing we do. lt'skind of ourritual. He findsme, whether it,s on Gef An Up, whereI literallyhad one line,to Ihe Help,where t got to piay Charlottephelan for a lovelystory arc. And then Gfi on the Train,I get to playa detectivein that. WhateverTate does, l,m in becauseI lovehim so much.lt was a lot of fun. I got to mosilywork with k.riirr,#iijrri,who,s divineand a lot of fr-rn.So I'm excitedfor thatmovie to comeout for him.

And,then, of course,there's'Mom,'which will be goinginto its fourth seasonthis fall. That must be so gratifying.

It is. Youknow l'm not part of the creativeprocess in termsof wherethe show goes and the directionit goesin. I iustget thescripts a coupleof daysbefore they come out. But l'm really pleasedthat Chuck and thewriters have gone as faras they'vegone in thedirection, actually dealingwith the things that happen to peoplein recovery,and not shyingaway from things that happenin life'..lt's definitely first and foremost a comedy,but we arenot afraid to dealwith issues thathappen in lifeand especiallyto peoplewho are struggling with addictions and in the recoverv process,which never ends.

what's the most fun about ptayingBonnie? you certainlyhave a greatlove life on the $eries,especially now with [actor]william Fichtnenlt's betterthan your TV daughter's!

Yeah,yeah [laughs]'Oh my God...lget suchjoy out of playingsomeone like Bonnie [who] is so not likeme and someonewho's so inappropriateand so justunabashedly selfish. lt's just deiicious to getto be thatway and be so inappropriateand bad and do allthe crazy,physical comedy that I get to do... I'm reallyenjoying this whole process because of everythingI get to use,every muscle I getto use,the physicalcomedy, the timing and working in frontof an audience,and then also havingthese incredibly emotionally dark scenes and momentsthat we getto film...lt's reallv a nice job I got here.

Yourwork on 'Mom' hasearned you two Emmysfor outstanding supportingActress in a comedy series,so now you have$even Emmys. Congratulations on that!

Thankyou, thank you.

Thisties you with MaryTyler Mosre and Ed Asnerfor the $econd highestnumber of Emmysfor performing.$owhere do you keep the statuettes?

I movedinto a housea yearago and am stilltrying to figureout whereeverything goes. I havethem in my officeon thesebeautiful shelves. And they're all linedup thereand they look beautiful. I think I finallyfound them a home.

I read an article that includedthings audiencesmay not know about you: that you dreamed of becoming an orympic skater, that you 'omakea mean sangria" and that you ,'loveto throw themeparties." I alsoread you're great at salsadancing. ls there anythingto add to this list today?

http://www.bi ography.com/news/all ison-janney-mom-movies-interview 5t17t2016 AllisonJanney Reaches Great Heights in'Acting GNTERVIEW) - Biography.com Oh my God,some of thosethings are truerthan othersthat you just said.l'm not a greatsalsa dancer,but I do loveto salsadance... I'm tryingto thinkof somethingpositive to say ratherthan negativebecause my mind is thinkingof all the thingsI'm not happywith myselfaboui... The only guiltypleasure I haveis Basta.fiaughs] That's really kind of boring,but pastawith cacioe pepe? That'spasta with pepperand cheeseand butter.l'm so boring,I can't thinkof anythingelse. I like to drivearound and talk on the phone[aughs], with my Bluetoothon, of course!That's my office.I liketo call people...Like right now l'm pacingaround in this room.lf I weredriving, I feelit relaxes me to driveand talk on the phone...I liketo playboard games. Oh, you know what I love?Phase 10 is not a boardgame, but that'smy obsession.

ls that a videogame?

No, it's a card game.You can buy it at Target...lt's my go-to gamewhen I havepeople over, and we just slt aroundand play Phase10 all night.Cards Against Humanity I love.I do lovea lot of card games...And that'sabout all I got.

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